The drought in the Midwest continues, with some cities receiving just half the normal amount of rain for this time of year.

Indiana Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman met with leaders from the agriculture community Monday to discuss the effects of the drought.

One of the concerns is the availability of water — for farmers, for homeowners and for businesses.

Currently, state officials have not ordered Hoosiers to conserve water. And when asked if the governor would mandate water conservation measures, Skillman said that the drought is nowhere close to that severe.

"It's never happened," said Skillman.

Mike Neyer, head of the water division of the Department of Natural Resources, said groundwater levels are lower than normal, but it's not to a disastrous level. He said groundwater levels will recover.

"Generally, we expect the water levels to be back to normal by next year," said Neyer.

Vanderburgh County, like all 92 Indiana counties, is under a water shortage warning, a notice meant to encourage Hoosiers to conserve water not because of an imminent shortage, but state officials hope a voluntary reduction of 10 to 15 percent of water usage will head off later issues.

Additionally, the drought is affecting a lot of farmers across the state. Corn production is way down and representatives from the pork and beef industry said they expect prices of meat to increase this year and into 2013. That's in part because some farmers are trying to liquidate their livestock to get out of the business, which will leave fewer producers.

"We're in a sell position," said Joe Moore, executive vice president of the Indiana Beef Cattle Association.

Don Villwock, president of the Indiana Farm Bureau, said that this drought is worse than one that struck the Midwest in 1988, but similar to the one in 1983.

"We've been through this before," Villwock said. "Farmers are always optimistic."

The high temperature in Evansville on Tuesday reached 104 degrees at 2:57 p.m., according to the National Weather Service, the 10th 100-degree day of the month. An entire Evansville summer typically sees just two.